SEC Open Thread

[NorthDakota]

Thank you all for timely and informative feedback. If each place has its own charm and none are head and shoulders better, I'll recommend UT.

I am pretty sure it's his first choice by a mile but anyone who has dealt with people up my way probably knows we don't actually express ourselves that way.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

lol

Incredible season for them to feature an SEC specific series. Bama and Ole Miss gets bounced from the playoff in favor of IU, so they only get 3 participants as a conference, one fewer than B1G, in spite of the entire conference and the media alike complaining about IU's playoff berth, only to see the SEC get embarrassed in the tournament.

Texas is the only team who advances beyond their first game, a brand-new member coming over from the Big 12.

Brian Kellly still sucks and calls himself crazy, while trying to act relatable by complaining that he has a mortgage. This might be worth watching.

 

[NorthDakota]

Incredible season for them to feature an SEC specific series. Bama and Ole Miss gets bounced from the playoff in favor of IU, so they only get 3 participants as a conference, one fewer than B1G, in spite of the entire conference and the media alike complaining about IU's playoff berth, only to see the SEC get embarrassed in the tournament.

Texas is the only team who advances beyond their first game, a brand-new member coming over from the Big 12.

Brian Kellly still sucks and calls himself crazy, while trying to act relatable by complaining that he has a mortgage. This might be worth watching.

Complaining about having a mortgage is diabolical work for a man who has made as much money as he has.

Now if he lamented about the expectations or pressure or time away from family or whatever, sure.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Depending on who they play, of course, you can’t go wrong with any of those 3. For example, I wouldn’t go see LSU play Louisiana Tech or Alabama play Eastern Illinois.

Tennessee vs Georgia would be a good one. It’s early in the year, and if Tennessee can get by Syracuse, both are likely to be undefeated. It’ll be still hot, but Knoxville is a good trip with the Vol Navy, Market Square, etc. They’ve got an ugly campus (it kind of blends in with their “downtown” and is hard to distinguish between what’s on campus and what’s not), but it’s a good place to catch a game.

I mean, I'd go, but that's only because I gave them the best years of my life. LOL

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

Thank you all for timely and informative feedback. If each place has its own charm and none are head and shoulders better, I'll recommend UT.

I am pretty sure it's his first choice by a mile but anyone who has dealt with people up my way probably knows we don't actually express ourselves that way.

Tuscaloosa stinks like burning rubber. Avoid if scent sensitive.

 

[forkbeard3777]

I’ve been to games at all three places and I’d vote for UT as the best overall experience. I think Knoxville has more to offer as a city than either Baton Rouge or Tuscaloosa. I was surprised at how steep Neyland Stadium felt when up in the stands.

I definitely agree with this, but if you’re only there for a couple of days, it’s negligible. Also, if you go to UTk-UGA, that early in the year, unfortunately, you’ll miss the Tennessee autumn. That said, between the three:

The best town? Knoxville

Best tailgating: LSU

Best game environment: All are great, but I’d say LSU, Alabama and then Tennesssee

Best stadium: Same. LSU, Alabama and then Tennessee.

Best “scenery”: Alabama, LSU and then Tennessee.

Best food: LSU

ETA: Have you ruled off going to Notre Dame - Arkansas? Arkansas’s got a nice, impressive stadium for an inferior SEC school, but Fayetteville is my second favorite SEC town to Athens. Dickson Street is great, it’s a gorgeous town, good people and some good looking women.

 

[Bishop2b5]

Ahh the old “piss balloons” myth. 🙄 Yeah, and Alabama fans are known to openly sodomize their relatives at tailgates and subsequently beat their spouses while yelling, “Rahr Tahd!”

And as far as stadiums, “Tiger Stadium, there is no substitute.” 😉 If you catch it on the right occasion and right opponent, there is no better environment in all of sports. Go listen to SVP routinely wax poetic over it.

Lighten up, Shirley. Don't be so touchy.

 

[Irish du Nord]

Looking at the players in the promo…

It’s unbelievable how much the SEC has fallen off.

Especially considering who they poached.

 

[NDohio]

My buddy and I have a flight voucher to use. We were thinking we'd catch a SEC game this fall. We were thinking Tennessee, Alabama, or LSU. Anyone have opinions/feedback that might help?

Right now we are leaning Tennessee hosting Georgia. Tickets are not bad at all (compared to the $500/ticket I paid yesterday for nd/usc)

We aren't set on anything, so if there are any hidden gems of college football please let me know. Doubt we'll ever have another random excuse to go catch a game at one of these places.

Not sure I would call it a hidden gem, but the atmosphere at South Carolina is really great. I’ve been to several games there and a night game against a good team is phenomenal.

You can’t go wrong with the options you put out there, but USC and Columbia are right behind those as another choice.

 

[AvesEvo]

Thank you all for timely and informative feedback. If each place has its own charm and none are head and shoulders better, I'll recommend UT.

I am pretty sure it's his first choice by a mile but anyone who has dealt with people up my way probably knows we don't actually express ourselves that way.

Plus, Heupel is a Dakota boy.

 

[NorthDakota]

Not sure I would call it a hidden gem, but the atmosphere at South Carolina is really great. I’ve been to several games there and a night game against a good team is phenomenal.

You can’t go wrong with the options you put out there, but USC and Columbia are right behind those as another choice.

My brother in law is a giant SC fan so I will make it there sooner or later

 

[NorthDakota]

Plus, Heupel is a Dakota boy.

Yes hes from about an hour away from me. Was a big deal for the area when he was at OU.

 

[Sea Turtle]

I took my son to Knoxville to see the Vols host Vandy. Great experience.

 

[drayer54]

Tennessee is a solid experience. Kyle Field is a solid (HOT) experience, Bama looks fun but haven't seen it. LSU is one I would personally skip. The fans are terrible. Wear purple and fake it if you are doing football tourism only just so you don't have someone pick a fight. I would do Florida or Georgia after that. I want to try Ole Miss tailgating next. All of them are louder and more passionate than ND stadium. Ohh yeah, Texas sucks too. I was completely underwhelmed at that gameday experience and had someone try to fight me because I was for the visiting team. Austin ain't what it once was. Ohh- Arky and Iowa are the two best stealth babe loaded campuses I've seen to date.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

I definitely agree with this, but if you’re only there for a couple of days, it’s negligible. Also, if you go to UTk-UGA, that early in the year, unfortunately, you’ll miss the Tennessee autumn. That said, between the three:

The best town? Knoxville

Best tailgating: LSU

Best game environment: All are great, but I’d say LSU, Alabama and then Tennesssee

Best stadium: Same. LSU, Alabama and then Tennessee.

Best “scenery”: Alabama, LSU and then Tennessee.

Best food: LSU

ETA: Have you ruled off going to Notre Dame - Arkansas? Arkansas’s got a nice, impressive stadium for an inferior SEC school, but Fayetteville is my second favorite SEC town to Athens. Dickson Street is great, it’s a gorgeous town, good people and some good looking women.

Fayetteville fall foliage is spectacular.

 

[SeekNDestroy]

Fayetteville fall foliage is fantastic.

FIFY

 

[ulukinatme]

FIFY

 

[forkbeard3777]

Out of all that I’ve been to, if I had to rank them for a visitor:

1. LSU - All around best experience (tailgating, stadium, environment, etc)

2. Georgia (their game environment is actually lacking imo, but Athens is best college town in America)

3. Alabama (it feels a little more corporate than it used to be. Campus is nice, but every building is new and looks the same)

4. Auburn (seriously, Jordan Hare is probably the second loudest stadium and energetic environment to LSU, it’s cool seeing the eagle fly around the field)

5. A&M (unique, great stadium)

6. Tennessee

7. Arkansas (again, great town and a nice little stadium)

8. Ole Miss (Oxford and the Square is nice…I prefer it in the Spring. The Grove is grossly overrated and inconvenient — their women, however, are not)

9. Florida - The Swamp is great …. Fans are assholes and Gainesville sucks as a town

10. Vandy — They’re remodeling the stadium, but it’s a either a lacking environment or a “home game” for the visiting team, and you’re going just to see Nashville really

 

[IRISHDODGER]

I definitely agree with this, but if you’re only there for a couple of days, it’s negligible. Also, if you go to UTk-UGA, that early in the year, unfortunately, you’ll miss the Tennessee autumn. That said, between the three:

The best town? Knoxville

Best tailgating: LSU

Best game environment: All are great, but I’d say LSU, Alabama and then Tennesssee

Best stadium: Same. LSU, Alabama and then Tennessee.

Best “scenery”: Alabama, LSU and then Tennessee.

Best food: LSU

ETA: Have you ruled off going to Notre Dame - Arkansas? Arkansas’s got a nice, impressive stadium for an inferior SEC school, but Fayetteville is my second favorite SEC town to Athens. Dickson Street is great, it’s a gorgeous town, good people and some good looking women.

I’m up there a lot for work. I’ll go to the game if my buddy comes through w/ tickets but away games for ND in the south can get sketchy. I will say I expected the worst at Neyland & was highly impressed w/ both the venue & the fans.

All Arky fans can talk about is the ND game. My buddies will tell me what the yahoo hosts on the local drive time sports station say about the game & their as stereotypical SEC fans as it gets “ND lost to NIU, we can beat ‘em”, “If Pittman is canned after this year, AR should go get Marcus from ND”, “Join a conference”, “ND always overrated“, “NBC televises all their games…not fair”. And that’s from the hosts!

Not surprisingly, the ND game is the highest priced ticket among their season ticket holders. That game will match or exceed whatever their attendance record is and it won’t be b/c ND fans traveled en masse.

F’ville is a nice down & NWA is one of the fastest growing areas in the country when you add in Rogers, Springdale & Bentonville. For those making a trip of it, be sure to go by “Crystal Bridges Museum”. Much to the dismay of elitist snobs, it’s one of the top 10 museums in the world.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

8. Ole Miss (Oxford and the Square is nice…I prefer it in the Spring. The Grove is grossly overrated and inconvenient — their women, however, are not)

agreed On both counts. Hit the Grove if you’ve never done it but it is overrated. Great for people watching though. Love Oxford & the Square. Great restaurants & atmosphere. The houses in the neighborhoods surrounding the Square are gorgeous. Was just there this week & had a quick bite at Ajax Diner. Eat at Boure on a Thursday evening & Kiffin will be doing his coach’s show w/ local radio. And yes, Ole Miss redshirts Miss Americas

 

[forkbeard3777]

agreed On both counts. Hit the Grove if you’ve never done it but it is overrated. Great for people watching though. Love Oxford & the Square. Great restaurants & atmosphere. The houses in the neighborhoods surrounding the Square are gorgeous. Was just there this week & had a quick bite at Ajax Diner. Eat at Boure on a Thursday evening & Kiffin will be doing his coach’s show w/ local radio. And yes, Ole Miss redshirts Miss Americas

You hit some good spots (Ajax and Boure). To have a really good time at Ole Miss, you’ve gotta have someone with a great spread and setup at The Grove (meaning, you just show up and it’s all there) or someone with a good reservations at one of the restaurants on the Square. It’s so much of a hassle otherwise.

 

[greyhammer90]

.

100% agree with you on Georgia. Sanford is mediocre but Athens is such a gem of a college town that it doesn't matter. The entire town's culture is day drinking

 

[ACamp1900]

Totally honest, I’ve been to Missouri and OU but in the big 12 era. If I could see a game from any stadium in the sec it’d be the egg bowl when it’s at Davis Wade. A second would be a night game from Death Valley. I honest to goodness would pass on any other traditional sec stadium. Zero interest in the rest,… MAYBE Auburn if I got free tickets on right weekend. For all the others mentioned,… if I wanted to attend a cult meeting of the extremely overhyped I’d find out where these Texans hold the Whataburger fan meetings and be done with it.

 

[NorthDakota]

100% agree with you on Georgia. Sanford is mediocre but Athens is such a gem of a college town that it doesn't matter. The entire town's culture is day drinking

Speaking of day drinking, my buddy and I went to Madison for a game last year. Missed a great opportunity to compete with the locals.

Buddy's wife has his balls in her purse. He's very excited for the USC game.

 

[notredomer23]

 

[forkbeard3777]

Speaking of day drinking, my buddy and I went to Madison for a game last year. Missed a great opportunity to compete with the locals.

Buddy's wife has his balls in her purse. He's very excited for the USC game.

Always wanted to check out a game there. I’ve read they don’t have tailgates in the traditional sense, but many house party’s around the stadium and beer gardens. I would destroy some Spotted Cow there.

 

[NorthDakota]

Always wanted to check out a game there. I’ve read they don’t have tailgates in the traditional sense, but many house party’s around the stadium and beer gardens. I would destroy some Spotted Cow there.

Thats exactly what it was. The stadium is in a neighborhood.

Spotted Cow is fine. Never understood the love it gets.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

I prefer another Wisconsin beer: Miller Lite.

 

[NorthDakota]

I prefer another Wisconsin beer: Miller Lite.

Yes king

 

[WPS]

Not surprisingly, the ND game is the highest priced ticket among their season ticket holders. That game will match or exceed whatever their attendance record is and it won’t be b/c ND fans traveled en masse.

It will definitely be the highest attended game of the season but with it being an 11 a.m. game combined with the fact that this is about as apathetic as Arkansas fans have been for a season, it wouldn’t surprise me if it falls short of expectations. The hype around the game still doesn’t seem to the level that 2021 Texas was (the year before they joined the SEC) and that atmosphere was as good as any in college football. Things have just gotten pretty stale in year 6 for Pittman.